Love this small town bait shop!! I hear people always assume the best of the best big store shops like cabelas or bass pro shops are the go to places for fishing needs, and never take the time to check small time bait shops. I always get a good laugh from that. Because from my experiences in most small town bait shops nationwide & especially Hawthorne Bait, they offer so much priceless value. I've never felt pressured here to buy the crazy expensive rod or reel cause it's what's hot. They sell me what's most efficient to my fishing style. This alone seems simple but is the difference between experienced anglers like in Hawthorne compared to high school kids at cabelas just getting a pay check.
Also, the atmosphere and overall attitude from employees here is always very welcoming when I stop in. I fish all over and they don't know me here. But when I stop in I'm treated like we've been fishing together forever!! Also if you take the time to talk local fishing with their employees here, you'll find their local expertise & knowledge is the most up to date around.
I've always fished anywhere new I could find since I was young. I never felt judged or like an outsider coming here years back as it was mostly the older crowd. Even now I'm in my 30's I roughly get to this area of the state 1-3 times a year fishing. So they don't know me what so ever when I stop in here. The atmosphere is still the same, extremely welcoming every time. When I make it around this area when I'm fishing I make sure to stop in to catch up on the local fishing and to pickup gear/bait to support their shop even if I don't actually need anything. You know good places when you see them and I always do my best to support them when I can.
I hope this review helps as it's an overall layout of my years stopping in here from an outsiders point of view. I don't mean I live the next town over. I lived in Michigan until July 2018 and have fished this area for years when traveling down here to Florida. Now I finally moved to Florida this year and able to explore this area more often. 100% complete outsider review!! read more